The Windrush scandal shows Britain is still dogged by institutional racism

The Windrush scandal has dominated the news for several weeks now, and for good reason. The gravity of the situation was revealed last night as news broke of Amber Rudd's resignation over the scandal.

The Guardian's recent investigation revealed the stark inhumanity of the situation. Hundreds of UK immigrants faced deportation should they be unable to provide evidence indicating a right to reside in the UK.

Since, stories have come to light of people, like Winston Jones, unable to access free healthcare on the NHS. Further cases of arrests and deportations have also occurred. As it stands, there have been 268 cases and counting, of people struggling to confirm their status handed to the Home Office in just over a week.

The scandal did however fall in a significant week in terms of British race relations. It was 50 years since Enoch Powell delivered his infamous Rivers of Blood Speech on the 20th April. While on the 22nd it was the 25th anniversary of the brutal, racist murder of Stephen Lawrence. These events have come to define Britain's conversation about racism. They have constantly made us re-asses the relationships between the varied immigrant populations in Britain, particularly the black community and I wonder will this fresh scandal have a similar impact?

Obviously Powell's speech and Lawrence's murder were examples of explicit racism in society and significantly different from the issues we see surrounding the Windrush. However, what followed both of these events, particularly the murder of Stephen Lawrence, was a more subtle racism, deeply ingrained in British society. This has re-emerged with the Windrush scandal.

The Home Office in Britain has for a long time become hell bent on creating, in Theresa May's terms, a 'hostile environment' for illegal immigrants. This policy was based on an assumption that immigrants had no right to be in Britain, forcing them to produce documentation for just about every activity to do with the state. This would seem to most to be a sensible policy, but it has pushed a generally negative view of immigrants, driving citizens who have lived in Britain for 50 years plus to insecurity and deportation.

There was uproar in the Question Time audience when Ian Dale suggested that had these immigrants been from 'white' Commonwealth countries like New Zealand or Australia they wouldn't have faced the same issues. While this is controversial I believe we must accept this is probably true. When Theresa May told the Commons her policy was 'deport first, hear appeals later' she set her Home Office, and the Civil Servants working for it, on a witch hunt.

This witch hunt, unfortunately, took on a discriminatory element as the institutional racism that has existed throughout Britain's history took hold.

Universities and their students can all too often think themselves exempt from the realities of racism in Britain. They often hide behind their zero-tolerance policies and 'safe spaces', ignoring the issues facing BME students. On an everyday level Warwick has also born witness to troubling racism, like when black student Faramade Ifaturoti found racist remarks written on bananas she left in her halls kitchen.

Warwick Anti-Racism Society recently presented a document to the Vice-Chancellor Stuart Croft outlining their concerns about issues facing BME students. Their 'Racism on Campus' investigation argues there is undeniable evidence that education in Britain, and inevitably Warwick, is institutionally racist and BME students face obstacles that other students don't.

The examples presented above paint a troubling picture for racism in Britain. It is clear from the highest levels of society that institutional racism remains an issue. 50 years on from Powell and 25 years on from Stephen Lawrence, Britain must once again face its demons, and ask itself what more can we do to create a more equal, inclusive society free from racial prejudice.